On this day
by callie rawston
Summary: Sam/Dylan one shot, written purely for todays date. This is my attempt at "fluffy"! :


**So, this one is for Dee - mainly because she dared me to write something a bit "fluffy". I'm not exactly sure where this came from, blame it on the date I suppose, but I thought I would try something a little different.**

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><p><strong>On this day<strong>

14th February 2013

Sam could feel her heart pounding in her chest as she ran, almost faster than her legs could carry her. She knew that she only had a couple of minutes left before she would be late and on this day, late was not something she was prepared to be. It had been the longest nine months she ever remembered experiencing, the realities of war sinking into her mentality from her very first day back in hell and yet despite the fact that her army issue boots were weighing heavy on her aching legs, she had never felt so alive.

As she rounded the corner and came to a halt in the car park of the still comfortingly familiar building, she finally allowed herself to catch her breath. She checked her watch, reassured that she had indeed made it in time and smiled at the memory of the same day three years before, the very same memory that been keeping her going through the long, lonely nights of her tour.

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><p><em>14<em>_th__ February 2010_

_It had not exactly been the greatest day, Sam couldn't help but think to herself as she collected the belongings at the end of her shift. The department seemed to have been taken over by an overwhelming amount of red flowers, with her fellow young medics completely caught up in the romantic nature of the day. She knew that there was irony to be found in the fact that she herself had been the only one not to receive any Valentines gifts, despite being the only member of her cohort to actually be married and yet she had not been surprised by Dylan's lack of acknowledgement. Her husband had never been one for hearts and flowers, preferring not to get involved in any public demonstrations of affection and even shying away from private displays of love for the majority of the time. _

_A part of her had hoped their first Valentine's Day since the wedding would have been different, but sadly it had appeared Dylan felt differently. She had known that his upcoming interview was important, but his refusal to even contemplate a meal out that night had hurt and when she had left for work that morning he had been notably absent, having sought out the sanctuary of their study and closing the door behind him. _

_She exited the hospital, trying to keep as low a profile as possible amongst the hyped up and lovey-dovey couples that appeared to be departing the staffroom at the same time as her. She had tried to hide her own lack of plans for the evening from them all, but she knew lying had never been a strong point and the pitying looks she had seen in her colleague's eyes had been unbearable. It was almost as if she could see them wondering why she had ever married the gruff and uncommunicative Dr Keogh in the first place. _

_The cold air hit her almost as soon as she left the hospital, but immediately this slightly unnerving sense was replaced by confusion as she was practically bowled over by an instantly recognisable dog. She had fussed over Dervla for a second, before looking up questioningly and saw her husband standing at the far side of the car park, that adorable half-smile of his lighting up his face._

_That had been the night she had learnt that even takeaway fish and chips on a bench by the river could be romantic and that the most important thing was to spend time with the man she loved. _

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><p>14th February 2013<p>

As she stood outside Holby City E.D. some three years on from that day, Sam recalled that her husband never had learnt to do Valentine's Day well. Dylan Keogh showed nothing but disdain at the commercialised aspects such an event and he had never been one for anything fussy, his scorn for the fancy Italian coffee's that the hospital canteen had started to sell just before her departure evidence enough of that.

The moment she saw him emerge from the entrance to the hospital, she felt her heart lift and the tiredness that had descended on her from the long last few days seemed to disappear without trace. The daft dog by her side yanked against the leash upon seeing her master and Sam let her go, watching as she bound over to Dylan and he dropped down to ruffle her coat.

He looked up in puzzlement and she met his gaze for the first time in six months, tears instinctively prickling against the back of her eyes. In their last call the previous week, she had been overwhelmed to hear him say that he was counting down the days to her return and she felt a familiar rush of love return for the man who had only recently resumed calling himself her husband. Her departure back to Afghanistan had been at her request, in desperation to leave before she had to watch Dylan start to move on with his life and it had only been on that very last day she had spent in England that he had drawn her into a hug, whispering into her ear that he would miss her.

They had agreed to start over as friends, yet despite the thousands of miles that had been between them for most of the last year somewhere along the way she knew that things were changing for the positive between them. Her unit had reached Cyprus two days previously and she had been due to spend time with them, debriefing and relaxing with her comrades but all Sam had wanted was to be back in her husband's arms once again. She had practically begged her commanding officer to let her take the earlier flight back to the UK, in spite of how much she knew it made her look weak. Her second uncomfortably long flight in two days had all but shattered her, especially when it had been followed by a coach trip across country from base. She had arrived back in Holby less than half an hour before Dylan's shift had been due to finish and only her desire to collect Dervla from the boat first had stopped her from heading straight to see him.

It had only been as she stood outside the hospital, their dog by her side, waiting for him that she even considered that he might not be best pleased to see her. Now their gazes met across the car park and as she watched her old colleagues filter out of the door behind him, Sam couldn't help but feel exposed. Neither of them had ever been particularly good at laying themselves on the line, but here she was openly declaring her love for Dylan on Valentine's Day, just like the previous few years had never occurred.

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><p>Dylan met his wife's gaze across the car park and an overwhelming sense of contentment fell over him. He had spent the past nine months hanging around his phone, waiting for her calls, and trying to convince his brain not to think about the very real and present danger she had been in every single day. He hadn't told her that he had taken a week off work to spend time with her on her anticipated return, nor had he told her how he hard he had worked to convince Mr Jordan to only take on a short-term locum replacement so she could return back to Holby E.D. when she came back to England. He hadn't managed to find the words to tell her he loved her either, but that much was a certainty and staring at her now he knew that there had never been a time when that hadn't been the case.<p>

Samantha looked absolutely beautiful, not that she didn't always, but even in her army casuals, camouflage combat trousers and a dark blue t-shirt, with her blonde hair falling loose from it tie she looked stunning. He felt the presence of other people behind him and knew it was his colleagues, colleagues who had spent the entire day publicly fawning all over each other despite Zoe's fairly obvious attempts to keep them out of his way.

His wife looked so vulnerable standing alone, as far away from a soldier as he could possibly imagine, and in that moment all he wanted to do was to offer a comfort, regardless of how public the setting. He felt his legs striding purposefully towards her, almost in spite of himself, and upon reaching her his hand instinctively made its way to her cheek, his fingers feeling warm against her soft skin.

"I've missed you," he stated honestly, his voice coming out unexpectedly hoarse with emotion.

"I've missed you too," came her response, her eyes appearing uncertain.

He leant forwards and captured her lips with his own, just briefly, before meeting her gaze once again.

Sensing his wife was yet again about to speak, Dylan felt his hands meet hers and spoke first. "I know" was his simple comment, the depth of feeling behind it clear for them both to see. As their lips met again for the second time, but this time more intense and passionate, Dylan knew that there would be plenty of time for talking later.

Ignoring the wolf whistles and cheers of their colleagues behind them, Dylan led his wife out of the car park standing so close to her side that they practically became one person, Dervla like a shadow beside them. Tonight they would eat take away fish and chips down by his boat; just like they had done three years before and then tomorrow they would start again, for real this time. He may not be the hearts and flowers type of man, but he knew that he loved this woman and all that mattered on this day, was to spend time with his wife, his Samantha.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed. It turns out I quite like "fluffy" endings. :-)<strong>

**Callie x**


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